| Mexican-Salvadorian cuisine on B Streets "Burrito Alley" |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 998
Reviewed: 9/16/2004
Rating: 9.5
My photo gallery
|
Patience pays off...Ive been trying to eat at La Pinata for a long time now. I have no idea what their business hours are, they have 0 signs posted anywhere. I can confirm they are open at 7:30PM on Thursdays. For the last 2 months, Ive been trying to eat at every taqueria shop on B street...also known as Burrito Alley. There are 9 shops that I know of and been to 6 burrito stands so far. I may be premature in saying this but I think I found the winner tonight. LA PINATA IS KING!!!
Is it coincidence my 2 favorite burrito places are - Salvadorian Taqueria La Bamba and La Pinata? If you are into pupusas, La Pinata makes them fresh, they have this giant bowl of dough, roll them into a ball, flatten it, and place them over a grill. Does it get better than that? I didnt try one but Im sure theyre good. Now for the burrito...
If you follow my mexican reviews, my numero uno test is a regular carnitas burrito with beans and rice. A regular burrito will run you $3.75 and you get free chips and salsa. It was a short wait for my food. I casually took my pictures and admired the huge mural on the wall. TV was blaring and jukebox kicked in with mexican music....I had a good feeling about this place.
My order was ready and happily made my way back to the table. I cut it in half with intentions on taking my leftovers home. My first bite...yikes....
tortilla - perfect and moist...tasted like a mexican pancake
rice - lets call this magic rice. Hands down the best gaaadaammmnn rice Ive had in a burrito in the bay area. My guess is, they cook the rice in chicken broth, with diced onions and tiny bits of carrots
beans - I always bitch about refried beans but what can I do when regular beans taste good? No need for refried beans in this burrito
cheese - i normally dont ask for cheese but I would like to thank La Pinata for putting this in my burrito....excellante...
salsa - probably the weakest element of the burrito but still rates in a 9. Its lacking the kick and fire...add more serranos and jalepenos.
meat - last but not least...one of the most important parts of the burrito, carnitas. It holds up to the standards of Taqueria La Bamba and possibly even better. Its crunchy, moist, tender and has less chunks of fat compared to La Bamba. Not many places know how to do carnitas and all of them should swing by La Pinata to experience the right way.
I quickly finished the first half and proceeded to the other half. Im going to the gym tonight..so why not. Other half was just as magical...a perfect burrito - big portions, cheap, and heavenly taste. I dont need to drive 20 miles to get my carnitas burrito now...its only 1 mile away!!!
Ive given out less than ten 9.5s in my 200+ reviews for jatbar. I hold 9.5s and above for special places, La Pinata is one of those restaurants. If you are into Carnitas, order the regular burrito. Dont know what else to say, this place rules and hope to gawd this wasnt a freak occurance. Ive only been here 1 time but look forward to making many return visits.
|
| |
| |
RETURN VISIT for Jason! 9/27/2004 - 9.5 Rating: To confirm that 9.5 wasnt a once in a lifetime burrito incident, made a return visit this afternoon. I ordered the regular carnitas burrito. I watched the lady make it and heres what I saw. She pulls the pork out of this tupperware container, slices it into smaller chunks, and throws it on the grill. I was bit surprised....how the heck is this going to taste like my first burrito experience? She grilled the meat for awhile then placed a tortilla next to the meat for a couple of seconds, after than she began the process of making a burrito. Tortilla, a scoop of rice, and pinto beans...f*ck, I forgot to ask for refried..oh well, placed the meat, then the salsa fresca, some cheese, and a little sauce from the beans?? Rolled it up and it was golden...I cut it in half and noticed the meat looked a lot different. Took my first bite, damm it was still good but I think she might have messed up. It tasted like Al Pastor, like the pork was marinaded in some barbeque sauce. Well whatever it was, it still tasted good. It wasnt quite the crispy pork I was looking for, but it did the job. With moist rice and runny beans, my stomach was satisfied.
I will have to make a return visit for another carnitas run. Btw..I found the restaurant hours..10AM-9PM 6 days a week. |
| |
| |
RETURN VISIT for Jason! 10/11/2004 - 9.5 Rating: Had a huge craving for mexican food..particularly carnitas. Two places came to mind, Taqueria La Bamba and La Pinata. One is closer to work and the other is closer to my home, I went with the latter. I ordered regular carnitas burrito with refried beans. There were 2 surprises tonight.
1. this carnitas burrito was like my 1st experience and different than my last visit (Al Pastor)
2. Salsa changed? Had more peppers..much better than 2 previous visits
Nothing new to report....La Pinata still makes one of the best carnitas burritos in the bay area. |
| |
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 730
Reviewed: 9/27/2004
Rating: 9.5
My photo gallery
|
I was almost prepared to shoot La Pinata down as nothing could be near as good as La Bamba. Its just not possible. Well, I ordered my Super Veggie burrito and an Orange Crush. It came out to about $7 (drink was $1.50). I grabbed my free chips and salsa and waited at a table. The tables weren't terribly clean but I was willing to look past that if the food was really in La Bamba territory.
I took my first bite and instantly knew I was in heaven. The burrito melted in my mouth. Everything about this burrito is absolutely perfect. The guac, sour cream, rice, beans, salsa - it all just melts together into one perfect concoction. Its a bit messy, but it is worth it. Unbelievable is the only word. There is a bunch of lettuce in it and if I was to order it again I think I would forego the lettuce as it just doesn't fit the mood of the La Pinata burrito. I think it needs a little more pizzazz to it (not necessarily hot sauce, as it did have a nice spicy taste to it). The salsa was hot but flavorless.
Its a second place to La Bamba, barely edging out Tacos Autlense. If I could, La Pinata would rate a 9.60, still a healthy distance behind La Bamba, but not by much.
|
| |
|
|
Reviewer: Michael
Total Reviews: 40
Reviewed: 9/22/2004
Rating: 8
My photo gallery |
After reading Jason's novel about La Pinata's I had to try it out.
My daughter and I went to this place for lunch on Saturday. I got my standard chicken taco and I ordered my daughter a cheese quesadilla. It took a good 15 minutes to get our food (a bit long for a small taqeria joint) Any way finally got our meal. The chicken taco was loaded with a ton of lettuce. I couldn't eat the thing without a fork. 1 did fill me up though (and it should have for $3.50 each). My little girl's quesadilla was very good as it came with an excellent guacamole.
After leaving this place and going home I had a stomach ache for that rest of the day and had to make a couple trips to the restroom. I won't be to hard on this place as the food tasted very good. 8 stars for La Pinata's.
|
| |
Reviewer: Eddie
Total Reviews: 47
Reviewed: 10/12/2004
Rating: 7
My photo gallery |
I follow Jason's recommendation on a regular carnitas burrito with bean and rice. While waiting for the food to come I tried their free chip and salsa. The salsa was kinda weak to me, even after the spicy sauce, it didn't help. But hey, they were free! Food arrived in about 5 minutes. Took the first bite, I didn't really get the feeling of Oh, heaven. I couldn't really tell you if there is anything different from other place's burritos, and I think it's no where near the burrito at La Bamba. Anyway, I probably won't come back here even if I am in the area. Not that the food is not good, it's just that I would rather go for the Japanese food here than anything else. |
| |
|
|
| Disclaimer |
|
|
